we were liars
by untouchablerave
Summary: eustace wasn't their favourite cousin. he was, of course, their only cousin, but that didn't mean he was their favourite. no pairing - pg (hint at edmund/jill) {modern au}
1. Chapter 1

Eustace wasn't their favourite cousin. He was, of course, their only cousin, but that didn't mean he was their favourite. In fact, Eustace Clarence Scrubb wasn't very well liked at all, and it came as no surprise to the residents of Rosewood when he went missing.

"I'm glad he's gone. He was asshole!" Lucy overheard, as she walked down Rosewood High's hallway.

"I wish people would stop talking about him," Lucy whispered to Edmund.

Everyone else stared at them. The Pevensies. Eustace's cousins. Them. Their feeble attempts at fleeting glances made Susan laugh bitterly.

"Tomorrow we'll be old news," she told Lucy.

Peter stopped at his locker and turned to them. "Look, I warned you two. People at our school like to gossip. They're going to want to –,"

"Kiss you, kill you, or be you. We get it." Lucy rolled her eyes. "Susan gave us the pep talk this morning."

"Ed, I'll see you in the locker room. Seniors take gym after Freshman."

"Sure," Edmund said, but his eyes were on Jill Pole who stood on the other side of the hall.

"Ed, stop it. She's already got half the school staring at her." Susan scolded him.

"And it's her first day," Lucy chimed in, digging her elbow into Edmund's ribs.

"Cut it out. I know. I just want to make sure she's okay."

The Pevensies exchanged looks with a pregnant pause. Edmund wandered over to Jill, careful to cross the traffic of students at the right moment.

"Hey Jill, how you holding up?"

Jill's eyes were red, but she faked a smile as she hitched her bag higher on her shoulder. "Alright."

"Come sit with us at lunch."

"I don't need your pity, Ed. Just because my boyfriend left without a trace or word -,"

"I'm asking as a friend." Edmund squeezed her shoulder. "Come on, we ran circles with each other all summer."

"Yeah. Okay," Jill nodded. "Thanks."

"See ya," Edmund smiled, and he dodged the traffic over to his siblings. "I invited her to lunch," he told them.

"That's nice of you," Susan replied. "Now it's going to look as though we're discussing where to hide the murder weapon."

"Susan!" Peter hissed.

"Oh come on. You heard Mom and Dad fighting. He's missing, presumed dead, and if we all huddle together whispering we're going to look guilty."

"Yeah and then people will talk about us more than they already do." Lucy cried.

"Cool it, Susan. It's Jill. It's lunch. Get over yourself." Edmund stalked off, with Lucy dragging her heels behind.

"Did you really have to go and say that, Su?" Peter asked, closing his locker.

"What?! You know it's true. They all think we're liars."


	2. Chapter 2

Eustace Clarence Scrubb, if anyone so deserved a name, had once lived next door to his cousins, the Pevensies. Their parents said they didn't plan it that way, but the longer Susan thought of it, the more mysterious it seemed to be.

She sat in her physics class, eyes glazed over and staring absent-mindedly at her text book, which was open on the page detailing the Quantum theory.

The Pevensies had never been the picture perfect suburban family, and they had never been rich, much like the other Rosewood residents. In fact, moving to Rosewood was a happy accident for them, when their father lost his job in Maryland and the family moved into the Scrubb's guest house. Their neighbours, the St Germain's, had left Rosewood a few weeks earlier, and when their house went to auction the Pevensies were first to bid. Over the summer, Peter, Susan, Edmund and his twin Lucy, helped their parents Helen and Arthur renovate the house, occasionally with the help of cousin Eustace and his girlfriend Jill Pole.

Susan tapped her pencil against her text book rhythmically, wondering what would have happened if…

"Susan!" the teacher called, putting his hands on his hips.

"Yes, sir?"

"Would you like to recount to the class the Quantum theory? Since you think listening is beneath you."

"Um…" Susan's eyes shifted around the room. Everyone was staring at her. "Well it's like… okay, so imagine you're walking down the street and you cross the road and get hit by a car and you die. Well, in another universe, there's another life where you wait and look both ways before crossing the road, and you don't die. So every choice you make dictates another turn of events, but the theory suggests there are many worlds out there, with different versions of yourself, making different decisions, opposite to the reality we're in now…"

"And is there a reality where you listen to what I'm saying, please?"

The whole class laughed at her, and Susan felt her face flush. Suddenly, the bell rang and everyone rose from their desks and filed out of class. Susan lagged behind, packing her textbooks into her shoulder bag.

"Susan, can I have a minute please?" The teacher asked.

"Look if it's about me not listening earlier -,"

"It's not."

Susan rose from her chair and walked to the teacher's desk. "Okay."

"Your answer was correct, but I think the description of your theory goes a little deeper. I just want to make sure you're alright."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Susan shrugged.

"I'm sure you are, I just wanted to check, what with Eustace –,"

"Still missing, I know. The anniversary is coming up and Edmund and Lucy have just become freshman. There's a lot going on."

"This is why I want to remind you that we have a guidance counsellor."

Susan sighed. "Thanks."

As she walked out of class, she promised herself that the next time she went to a guidance counsellor would be over her dead body.

The cafeteria was packed. Lucy walked from AP English down the main corridor and joined the line that snaked out of the door way. She checked her phone: NO MESSAGES, and searched for her siblings through the crowd.

Eventually, the line decreased, and her plate was filled with runny macaroni and cheese and crusty garlic bread. Lucy wrinkled her nose in disgust and sat down at a small, but empty table near the back of the hall. Everyone turned to look at her as she took a bite of a slimy piece of pasta. People whispered behind their ears and pointed. Lucy felt the hairs on her neck stand up, and her stomach turned over and over. Suddenly, the macaroni reminded her of vomit, and she stood to do just that, pushing her pasta away from her, untouched.

Lucy darted out of the cafeteria and bolted for the girl's bathroom. She just about locked the stall behind her before heaving into the toilet bowl. She wiped her brow with her sleeve and sat with her back against the wall.

Out of all of the bad days she would encounter at Rosewood High, she was pretty happy to get the worst one out of the way quickly.


End file.
